Automatic separator cutout switch



Jan. 26, 1954 M. E. FROST 2,667,629

AUTOMATIC SEPARATOR CUTOUT gw'ncn Filed Oct. 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l MARION E FROST BY WW WQMW ATTORNEYS INVENTOR Jan. 26, 1954 EMFROST a v2,667,629

AUTOMATIC. sEPA'RAToR cu'rou'r swrr cn Filed Oct. 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Shet 2 2 INVENTOR MARION E. FROST BY 4 M Q ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 26, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC SEPARATOR CUTOUT SWITCH Marion E. Frost, Catonsville, Md. Application October 5, 1951, Serial N 0. 249,933

9 Claims. I

The present invention relates to improvements in an automatic separator cut-out switch and has for an object the provision of an improved device ofthis kind which will automatically shut off the separator in case of machine failure and at the same time close an alarm circuit to actuate an alarm to warn the attendant of such failure.

' Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure in which the means for shutting off the separator and closing thealarm circuit is actuated by the oil which is being purified by the separator.

Afurther object of the present invention is to provide an improved switch of this character, the various parts of which may be mounted upon a base to provide a unitary structure so that the device is capable of being set up quickly and easily at any desired location.

A still further object of the present invention is which is capable of being adjusted so that the time of actuation of the device may be varied.

The present invention aims to provide an improved switch of this type which comprises relatively few parts, is economical to manufacture and easy to maintain in proper operating condition.

1 With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more fully described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. I

In the drawings, in which the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the several views,

Figure l is a perspective view of the improved I.

device constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the improved device with parts in section and showing diagrammatically the separator and alarm electric circuits. Referring more particularly to the drawings, I0 indicates a base of insulating material which may be made of micarta or other suitable material. The base I 0 may be made of any desired size and shape but in be made of sheet of a substantially flat rectangularly shaped plate is secured to the upper face of the rear end portion ofthe base; ID by fastento provide an improved device of this kind the present illustration is shown to be rectangular. A lever support I I which may v 2 in elements, such as the screws I2 and nuts I3. An arm I4 extends upwardly from each side of the support II adjacent the forward edge and each arm has its upper free end portion apertured to receive a pivot element I5 which may be in the form of a rivet. The pivot element Iii also extends through each of apertured ears I6 which extend downwardly from the opposite sides of a cup actuated lever I! so that the lever I1 is pivotally mounted on the support Ii. The main body portion of the lever I7 is substantially diamond shaped and the sides of the main body portion between the points of the diamond are concave.

The side points of the diamond have the ears IB bent downwardly therefrom and the rear point I 8 is apertured to receive therethrough the screw threaded upper end of an adjusting member or pin I9. An adjusting or tensioning nut is received by the portion of the pin I9 which extends above the rear point I8 and a lock nut 2| is received by the portion of the pin I9 just below the rear point I8. The lower end portion of the adjusting member I9 has an eye 22 for receiving the upper end portion of a coiled tension spring 23. The lower end of the spring 23 is received by an opening 24 formed in a lug 25 which extends upwardly from the intermediate portion of the rear edge of the support II.

The forward point of the diamond shaped portion of the lever I'i extends forwardly to provide an elongated arm 26 the free end portion of which terminates at a point rod 27 which may be made of brass or other suitable material and any desired thickness, for example, of an inch in diameter, is secured to face of the lever I1 in any suitable manner. The wire 2! is coextensive with the arm 26 of the lever I1, extends forwardly thereof a short distance as indicated at 28 and then extends downwardly to a point substantially flush with the lower face of the base I0. The portion 28 of the wire 2! then extends forwardly as indiprojects downwardly below the an attaching portion 30 which is secured in any appropriate manner to the inner face of the upper portion of a cup 3|. A boss 32 having an orifice 33 extending therethrough extends downwardly from substantially the medial portion of the bottom of the cup.

At 34 is indicated the discharge line or overflow pipe from the centrifuge of an oil separator or purifier through which line water is intermittently discharged. The outlet end of the pipe one-eighth the upper a 3 3 4 is positioned above the cup 3i so that the fluid flowing from the pipe 34 will enter the cup 3|.

The spring 23 is set under sumcient tension to counterbalance the cup so that the cup and the arm 25 of the lever ll are held in their raised position, that is the inoperative position of the lever. In order to check the upward movement of the arm 25 a lever stop generally indicated at is provided.

The lever stop 35 is of substantially inverted U-shape and comprises a pair of legs 36 connected at their upper ends by a connecting piece 3? and having on their lower ends apertured outturned feet 38 which are secured to the upper face of the base is by screws 39 and The lever stop 35 is secured to the base ll] adjacent the forward edge thereof and the legs 36 are disposed on opposite sides of the lever arm 25 to serve as guides for the arm 26 in its movements. The connecting piece 3'! overlies the arm 26 and is disposed in the path of its upward movement so as to limit the upward movement of the arm 26.

An electric switch generally indicated at 4! is mounted on the upper face of the base It rearwardly of the lever stop 3'5. The switch 41 may be secured to the base it by bolts 42 which extend downwardly through the housing 43 of the switch and have their lower screw threaded ends received by suitable openings in the base.

The lower ends of the bolts 42 receive nuts 44 for holding them in position. A contact member 45 is fixed to a portion 46 of the switch which may be made of insulating material and an operating rod 47 is slidably received by aligned openings in the contact member 45 and portion 46.

A movable contact member 48 is fixed to the lower end portion of the rod 41 and a push button 49 is carried by the upper end of the rod *l'i in the path of downward movement of the arm 26. The movable contact 48 is normally held in its raised position in engagement with the fixed contact 135 by a coiled spring 5i! which encircles the intermediate portion of the rod 41 and has its opposite ends engaging the portion 48 and the push button 49. The fixed contact 45 is connected to one end of a wire 5i which may form a part of an electric motor circuit for a motor 52. The movable contact ll! is connected to one end of a wire 53 which may also form a part of the motor circuit.

A second electric switch generally indicated at 54 is also mounted on the upper face of the base it] rearwardly of the switch 4!. The switch 54 may be secured to the base I!) by bolts 5% which extend downwardly through the housing 56 of the switch and have their lower screw threaded ends received by suitable openings in the base. The lower ends of the bolts receive nuts 51 for retaining them in proper position. A contact member 58 is fixed to a portion 59 of the second switch which may be of insulating material and an operating rod 60 is slidably received by aligned openings in the contact member 58 and the portion 59.

A movable contact member 6| is fixed to an intermediate portion of the rod 66 above the fixed contact 56 and a push button 52 is carried by the upper end of the rod 69 in the path of downward movement of the arm 26. The movable contact 6| is normally held in its raised position out of engagement with the fixed contact by a coiled spring 63 which encircles the rod 60 and the spring has its opposite ends engaging the portion 59 of the switch and the movable contact Bl. I

The fixed contact 58 is connected to a wire 64 which may form a part of an electric alarm circuit for an alarm, such as, a bell 65. The movable contact EI is connected to a wire at which also form a part of the alarm circuit.

A cover 6? which may be made of brass or other suitable material is of substantially the same length and width as the base it so as to fit thereon to protect the switches and the other elements which are mounted on the base. The lower edge portion of the cover is of reduced thickness as indicated at 68 to provide a downwardly facing shoulder 59. The inner face of the reduced portion 68 snugly engages the edge of the base it and the shoulder be rests upon the upper face of the marginal edge portion of the base. Fastening elements, such as, screws 16 extend through suitable openings in the cover and are received by screw threaded sockets ll for holding the cover in proper position upon the base it. The forward wall of the cover has a vertically extending slot T2 to accommodate the arm 26.

In the use of the improved device it may be connected to the electric circuit of the motor 52 which may operate the oil pump of an oil separator. During normal operation of the separator the parts will be in the position illustrated in full lines in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. The lever ii and the cup 3! will be in their raised positions and the contacts 45 and 48 of the switch il will be in engagement so that the circuit to the motor 52 is closed. The contacts 58 and SI of the second switch 54 will be separated so that the alarm circuit is open.

When an oil separator is in operation dirty or contaminated oil is fed into it and purified oil is discharged therefrom. When the separator is operating properly the water which has been separated from the oil is intermittently discharged through the pipe 34. The orifice 33 in the bottom of the cup is of sufiicient size to permit the normal flow of the water through the pipe 36 to be discharged through the orifice into the drainage system on land or the bilges on board ship without building up in the cup. For various reasons while the separator is running at times it will fail and oil will be discharged through the overflow pipe and there will be a resultant loss of oil into the drainage system or the bilges. If this failure is not detected the entire tank of oil might be lost and the machinery damaged. The diameter of the orifice 33 of the cup 3| is of such a size, for example, one-fourth of an inch, that the oil which is more viscous than the water will not be able to drain through the orifice at as great a rate as it enters the cup.

Accordingly, the oil will build up in the cup until the weight of the oil in the cup will overcome the resistance of the spring 23 and will lower the cup and swing the forward portion of the lever I1 downwardly on its pivots l5. As the lever ll move-s downwardly the arm 25 will engage and depress the push buttons 49 and 52, causing the contact 48 to move out of engagement with its contact 35 to break the circuit to the motor 52 and thereby stop the operation of the separator. At the same time the contact 6| will be moved to the dotted line position shown in Figure 4 of the drawings in which it engages its contact 58 and closes the alarm circuit to ring the bell to warn the attendant that there.

has been a machine failure.

When sufficient oil has escaped from the cup so that the contact 48 again engages its contact,

45 to close the motor circuit and contact Si is moved away from its contact 58 to open the alarm circuit. The tension of the spring 23 maybe, varied by adjustingthe member i9 so that the cup may be depressed by any desired amount of,

oil gathered therein.

The cup, ture and the lever stop may be made of sheetv brass one-sixteenth inch thick or of any other suitable material having the desired thickness.

It is obvious that various changes and modifi-:

cations may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims:

What I claim is:

1. An automatic cut-out switch for the electric circuit of an oil separator having an outlet through which water discharges during normal operation of the separator and through which oil discharges during a failure of the separator comprising a pivotally mounted lever, a cup carried by said lever and having an orifice therein, a switch for normally closing said circuit and having an operating member disposed in the path of movement of said lever, and resilient means for holding said lever out of engagement with said operating member, said cup adapted to receive discharging water from the outlet of the separator during the normal operation of the separator and to receive discharging oil from the outlet of the separator during a failure of the separator, said orifice being of such a size that the water will escape from the cup at the same rate as it enters the cup and that the oil will not escape from the cup at as great a rate as it enters the cup so that the oil will accumulate in the cup until its weight overcomes the force of the resilient means for holding the lever out of engagement with said operating member, thereby causing the lever to move downwardly into engagement with said operating member to open the separator circuit.

2. An automatic cut-out switch as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the fact that an alarm is provided, that an electric circuit is provided for said alarm and includes a normally open switch having an operating member disposed in the path of movement of said lever, whereby the downward movement of the lever causes the lever to engage the operating member of said alarm switch to close the alarm circuit.

3. An automatic cut-out switch for the electric circuit of an oil separator having an outlet through which water discharges during normal operation of the separator and through which oil discharges during a failure of the separator comprising a base, a lever support on said base, a lever pivotally mounted on said support, a cup on said lever and having an orifice therein, a switch on said base for normally closing said circuit and having an operating member disposed in the path of movement of said lever, an alarm circuit the lever and its supporting struc comprising an alarm, anormally open-switch for said alarm circuit and. mounted on said base and comprising an operating member disposed in the path of movement of said lever, and resilient means connected to said support and said lever for holding said lever out of engagement with said operative members,said cup adapted to be positioned beneath said outlet to receive dis charging water from the separator during the normal operation of the separator and to receive discharging oil from the separator during a failure of the separator, said orifice being of such a size that the water will escape from the cup at the same rate as it enters the cup and that the oil will not escape from the cup at as great a rate as it enters the cup so that the oil will accumulate in the cup until its weight overcomes the force of the resilient means for holding the lever out Of engagement with said operating members,

thereby causing the lever to move downwardly into engagement with said operating members to open the separator circuit and to close the alarm circuit.

4. An automatic cut-out switch as claimed claim 3 characterizedby the fact that adjusting means are provided for varying thetension, of said resilient means. 7 v

5. An automatic cut-out switch as claimed in claim 3 characterized by the fact that said resilient means urges said lever upwardly out of engagement with said operating members, and, thata lever stop is mounted on said base for arresting the upward movement of the lever under the influence of said resilient means.

6. An automatic cut-out switch as claimed in claim 3 characterized by the fact that one end portion of said lever extends beyond said base, that the cup is secured to the extended portion of the lever, and that a cover is provided for attachment to said base for enclosing the support, the lever, and the switches, said cover having a vertically extending slot therein for receiving therethrough the extended portion of the lever.

7. An automatic cut-out switch for the electric circuit of an oil separator. having an outlet through which water discharges during normal operation of the separator and through which oil discharges during a failure of the separator comprising movable means, an electric switch for normally closing the separator circuit and having an operating member disposed in the path of movement of said movable means, and means for holding said movable means against movement, said movable means comprising a cup having an orifice therein and adapted to be disposed in the path of the water and oil being discharged from the outlet of the separator during operation of the separator, said orifice being of such a size that the water will escape from the cup at the same rate as it enters the cup so that the movable means will not be affected and that the oil will not escape from the cup at as great a rate as it enters the cup so that the oil will accumulate in the cup until its weight overcomes the force of the means holding the movable means against movement, thereby causing the movable means to engage the operating member and open the separator circuit.

8. An automatic cut-out switch for the electric circuit of a separator for separating two liquids of different viscosities and having an outlet through which the liquid of less voscosity discharges during normal operation of the separator and through which the liquid of greater viscosity discharges during a failure of the separator comprising movable means, an electric switch for normally closing the separator circuit and having an operating member disposed in the path of movement of said movable means, and resilient means for holding said movable means against movement, an alarm, an electric circuit for said alarm including a normally open switch having an operating member disposed in the path of movement of said movable means, said movable means comprising a cup having an orifice therein and adapted to be disposed in the path of the liquids being discharged from the outlet of the separator during operation of the separator, said orifice being of such a size that the liquid of less viscosity will escape from the cup at the same rate as it enters the cup 50 that the movable means will not be afiected and that the liquid of greater viscosity will not escape from the cup at as great a rate as it enters the cup so that the liquid of greater viscosity will accumulate in the cup until its weight overcomes the force of the means holding the movable means against movement, thereby causing the movable means to engage the operating member and open the separator circuit and to close the alarm circuit.

9. An automatic cut-out switch for the electric circuit of a separator for separting two liquids of different visco-sities and having an outlet through which the less viscous liquid discharges during normal operation of the separator and through which the more viscous liquid discharges during a failure of the separator comprising movable means, an electric switch for normally closing the separator circuit and having an operating member disposed in the path of movement of said movable means, and means for holding said movable means against movement, said movable means comprising a cup having an orifice therein and adapted to be disposed in the path of the two liquids being discharged from the outlet of the separator during operation of the separator, said orifice being of such a size that the less viscous liquid will escape from the cup at the same rate as it enters the cup so that the movable means will not be afiected and that the more viscous liquid will not escape from the cup at as great a rate as it enters the cup so that the more viscous liquid will accumulate in the cup until its weight overcomes the force of the means holding the movable means against movement, thereby causing the movable means to engage the operating member and open the separator circuit.

MARION E. FROST.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 977,391 Milliken Nov. 29, 1910 1,561,813 Williams Sept. 23, 1930 2,034,943 Dyer Mar. 34, 1936 2,421,768 Voliazzo et a1 June 10, 1947 2,554,229 Woodson May 22, 1951 

